Publication 216, The First 100 Years

1879-1979

Repeal of the Motor Vehicle Transportation License Tax

In the period following the Riley-Stewart Amendment many taxes have been added to California’s tax structure and assigned to the Board of Equalization for
administration. The repeal of the Motor Vehicle Transportation License Tax Law in 1973 marks one of the few exceptions to this pattern. In its 1969-70 Annual Report
the Board states:

“The Board has long recommended the repeal of this tax because of its high relative cost of administration and its basic inequities.” 122

Actually, the Board had repeatedly urged the elimination of this tax for better than a decade.123 Despite earlier efforts, however,
the tax was not repealed until 1973. Effective July 1, 1973, the Motor Vehicle Transportation License Tax, which had been in effect since 1933, was repealed.